This invention relates generally to door frames and more particularly to pre-hung doors and frames for metal buildings.
Referring to FIGS. 1-3, a pre-engineered metal building wall 100 is shown with a doorway opening 102 cut therein. In many applications, a door frame 104 is positioned within the opening 102 and secured to the building wall 100 by a door post 106 secured to each door jamb 108. A girt 112 typically is provided above the upper edge of the opening 102 for securing of the posts 106 for additional rigidity. However, since the girt 112 is typically positioned above the frame height and the posts 106 are typically only the height of the frame 104, long anchors 114, which often are susceptible to flexing, are required to secure the posts 106 to the girt 112. Additionally, a header reinforcement 116 may have to be secured to the frame header 110 for additional support.
In many pre-engineered metal buildings, door frames 104 are assembled at the job site by installing the frame sections and then hanging the door. Such installations are labor intensive and the resulting door and door frames can have insufficient resistance to twisting of the frames. Even in applications wherein the frame 104 is preassembled, the frames 104 still generally include a number of post-manufacture clips and anchors 118 for assembling the frame 104 and securing it to the door posts 106. As a result, the manufacturing time and costs are increased and the resultant number of components also create more difficult assembly and greater risk of component failure. Additionally, the numerous clips and anchors 118 and the door posts 106 often make it difficult to easily and efficiently insulate the door jambs 108.
The foregoing illustrates limitations known to exist in present door frames 104 for pre-engineered buildings. Thus, it is apparent that it would be advantageous to provide an alternative directed to overcoming one or more of the limitations set forth above. Accordingly, a suitable alternative is provided including features more fully disclosed hereinafter.
In one aspect of the present invention, this is accomplished by providing a pre-hung door and frame comprising: a header; two door jambs at a right angle to the header, each door jamb comprising an elongated member having a soffit, two stops extending at right angles from the soffit, a rabbet extending at a right angle from each stop and a face extending at a right angle from each rabbet, an upper end of each door jamb being attached to the header; and a door hingedly attached to one of the door jambs; and two door posts, the door posts nesting within and secured to the door jambs.
The foregoing and other aspects will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures.